Ladakhi nomads are earning praise for apparently resisting the Chinese army’s attempts to drive them out of a grazing area in the larger Nyoma region earlier this month.

A video clip of the altercation, which has surfaced on social media, apparently shows a nomad using his rope as a sling to pelt stones at the soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). The local was apparently aiming for an armoured vehicle, which seemed to have escaped the hit.

A few nomads can also be seen picking up stones and slamming them to the ground in frustration.

The nomads appear to have a heated argument with more than a dozen unarmed PLA soldiers, accompanied by siren-blowing armoured military vehicles, who were waving at them to leave the place along with their flock of animals.

The nomads apparently left the grazing field, with Chinese soldiers following them to ensure they were gone.

The incident is believed to have happened on January 2. Indian Army soldiers are not seen in the video that was shared on Instagram by a user called Kunsang Namjal.

Ishey Spalzang, the elected councillor of Nyoma, said the incident happened earlier this month at Kakjung, which borders Tibet, in his constituency.

“On January 13, I accompanied SDM (sub-divisional magistrate) Nyoma and army men to the spot for on-spot verification. The area is on the LAC. It is on our side and our shepherds usually go to the place. Our side committed no violation. But they (Chinese) claim it is their land,” Spalzang told The Telegraph over phone.

Ladakh Congress leader Tsering Namgyal said the area was “entirely ours” but the shepherds were being denied access to it.

“You can see how our men are resisting the Chinese, telling them this is our land. Both sides speak in the local (Tibetan) language as the men from the other side also know the language,” he said.

“The video shows how we are being deprived of our grazing land. I spoke to the officials in Nyoma and they also agreed this is our land. I heard they have spoken to the other side.”

In the video, a shepherd is heard asking the Chinese troops why they had come to the spot and brought their vehicles along.

Both sides were filming the incident with their mobile phones and PLA soldiers can also be seen trying to block the mobile camera of a herder.

Chushul councillor Konchok Stanzin, who also posted the video on X, praised the bravery of the shepherds.

“See how our local people are showing their bravery in front of the PLA, claiming that the area they are stopping is our nomad’s grazing land. PLA stopping our nomads from grazing in our territory. Seems it is never a never-ending process due to different lines of perceptions. But I salute our nomads, who always stand to protect our land and stand as the second guardian force of the nation,” he said.

“No doubt that our forces are always with civilians resolving the grazing issues with the PLA, it’s all because of their support that our nomads could bravely face the PLA,” he added.

In 2020, Stanzin had ruffled feathers by acknowledging that Chinese incursions had taken place in the area despite claims to the contrary by the central leadership.

This is not the first time that Chinese soldiers have turned away nomads from their grazing land in the area. Ladakh, including Pangong, witnessed the worst confrontation between the two countries in decades in 2020 after the Chinese army killed 20 Indian soldiers in Galwan.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, during a visit to Ladakh’s border with China last year, had said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that China had not occupied an inch of Indian territory had no takers in Ladakh.